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2006-04-09

It was obvious that Arsenal is focused on the Champions League. And it's also obvious that Manchester United still dreams of being Champions. It was so obvious that the final result was a 2-0 win for Manchester.

Wayne Rooney and Ji-Sung Park scored the winning goals, as Thierry Henry was sitting on the bench. Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie were the starter strikers of the Gunners.

In fact, the Gunners enjoyed the better of the first quarter, dominating possession on a slick Old Trafford surface, with Arsenal’s front two both failing to capitalise on nice chances.

However, United gradually began to force their way back into the game. Jens Lehmann, outstanding all match, was forced to make a series of good saves from close-range and long-distance shots from Rooney.

It's fair to say that United could have taken a lead before the break and were unfortunate not to be given a penalty. Amazingly, Rooney rounded Lehmann, who got a glove to the ball, bringing down Kolo Toure. The Ivory Coast international appeared to handle the ball as he tumbled and knocked the ball onto the post from Rooney’s shot.

Manchester United began to turn the screw in the second half and after an extended period of pressure in the Arsenal half, Rooney opened the scoring.

In a very classy move, Rooney controlled the ball expertly and shot fiercely past Lehmann.

Arsenal brought on Henry in an attempt to restore parity but the captain, receiving little possession from his team mates, made little impact on proceedings.

In the end, Ji-Sung Park made sure of the victory for United with a goal ten minutes from the whistle, his first in the Premier League.